LibraryTechtonics

I received an email today from Stephanie Gerding announcing that her book The Accidental Technology Trainer is now available for purchase.  I wrote some snippets for her a while back about the Geek Out, Don’t Freak Out classes and the Netguides program, and I can see from the table of contents that the Netguides program definitely made it in as a whole sidebar (w00t!).  I won’t know about the rest of the content until I get my hands on a copy.   Congratulations, Stephanie!

I like writing snippets for books, because I can help the author and contribute to the content of the work, without having to write an entire book.  While I always enjoy a good challenge, finding myself in the middle of NaNoWriMo and sinfully behind in my word count is a sobering reminder of why writing a whole book (on my own, anyway) just isn’t on my list, and puts me in awe of those who can actually do it successfully.

Alex, the Boy Scout who helped my library get the Netguides program off the ground, is now officially an Eagle Scout because of his work with us at Reading Public Library. Big congrats, Alex! I shall henceforth refer to him as The Eagle Scout.

It’s nice to know that the Netguides program continues to be a win-win for everyone involved. We needed help getting things off the ground, Alex wanted to become an Eagle Scout, and we both got what we wanted. The Netguides themselves want an opportunity to acquire volunteer hours for National Honor Society and other organizations, to be a part of the community, and to work with the library, and we need them to help us, and not only do we both win, but the patrons win, too.

Netguides are on hiatus this month, so that we can focus on ironing out the changes in the program, and so that I can do a little recruitment, since we’re down at least one Netguide. But, it seems like the rest of the gang is hanging in. I do have quite a few seniors on staff this year, so I might do a small recruitment/training drive in the fall, and plan a larger recruitment blitz for the rest of the fall, with a training in January. That way, the seniors can somehow mentor the underclassers (not sure how this will work yet), and we’ll have a smoother transition as the seniors run off to college (and I start writing college recommendation letters!).

The Netguides program I started back in February is doing really well. We’re averaging about 8 appointments a month, which isn’t too shabby, and many of the participating patrons will make a next appointment request after their first. I’ve also set up a few patrons on a recurring appointment cycle, which 5-6 regular weekly appointments in a row, with the intention to reassess their skills at the end of the cycle, and decided how to proceed with regular appointments going forward.

The Netguides themselves are awesome. They really have immense patience, and they really want the patrons to learn. The volunteers are also very honest and open with their evaluations of the patrons they work with, which has been really helpful in assessing their needs and helping them with trouble spots.

Some of the weak spots in the system have had to do with scheduling. Wrangling teens, as you may know, is a little like herding wet cats. Overall, the system works well:

1. I have a chart that tells me what days and times students are available which matches the chart on the appointment request bookmark, which is what I use to match them up with an appointment.
2. I set a tentative appointment on the Netguide side *first*, to guarantee a volunteer’s availability, and pop it into the calendar in the Yahoo! Group marked TENTATIVE.
3. I call the patron and offer them the date and time (if the patron is not home, I leave a message asking them to call; only then do I give them the details, which forces them to call).
4. If all goes well, I can mark the calendar appointment as CONFIRMED, and the Netguide knows to come in. If an entry is marked TENTATIVE on the day of the appointment, they know not to come in.

However, the problem seems to be with getting patrons to call back. I can email the Netguides, they all check email regularly. Most of the patrons, naturally, don’t have email addresses, because they don’t really know how to use them. This bit makes the scheduling process time consuming, and causes a lot of back and forth from the patron to the Netguide and back again. My Super Volunteer Marie does a lot of work helping out with the schedule, but still, it’s exhausting for us both.

After talking it over with my supervisor, I have a new plan (I love talking to my supervisor, she’s wicked smart and an awesome problem solver). We meant to have drop-in hours scheduled for the Netguides before, but that didn’t work as well as I’d planned. Several of the kids opted for the minimum 2 hours per month, with the potential to maybe work 4 hours, which meant that I could only really use them for 1 class or 2 appointments, but not both. And I know that, at least for now, 12 kids is really the max I can manage and still do all the other things I do at the library, so adding personnel is not the answer.

So, the new plan is:

• Up the minimum monthly requirement to 3-4 hours per month, to solve the not enough hours covered problem without increasing my volunteer load. This shouldn’t be a problem for most Netguides, since many opted for anywhere from 4-10 hours a month. If it is a problem, I can reserve those Netguides as class assistants, and that can be their monthly schedule.
• Schedule everyone for regular hours every month, so that each Netguide has a *set* schedule, like, say, every Tuesday night from 7-9p, or every other Saturday from 10a – 12p. This gives everyone a little more certainty of scheduling, including me, and allows me to make a set schedule several months at a time.
• Offer patrons time slots in the range that the Netguide shifts happen. That way, Marie and I can fit the majority of appointments into prefab slots when we know someone will already be scheduled for a shift. We can still offer the “Other times” option to people, but this will make the appointment process way less painful and exhausting.

I think it’ll be a vast improvement, so I’m very optimistic.

I’m also making some serious changes to the regular class schedule. Now that we have the Netguides to cover very basic topics (basic computing & internet, Office applications, etc.), I won’t be offering most of them on the schedule anymore. The basic topics really work best on a one-to-one level, anyway, and it leaves the schedule open for the more in-demand stuff and more interesting, progressive topics.

To test the waters on whether this is the right direction, I put out a SurveyMonkey survey (linked from the library home page), that I also printed out for people who aren’t so good with computers. This allows patrons to get their 2 cents in before I finalize the schedule.

My current draft schedule has the patron faves on it: Getting Started with eBay; Geek Out, Don’t Freak Out: Digital Cameras; Excel: Formulas, Formats, & Sorts; Word: Tables & Images; and other stuff. But then I’ve also planned for a few new and interesting things, like how to download free audio books via Podiobooks and sites like it; and a 3 class series for digital pictures, including a Geek Out for digital cameras, a class on downloading and editing, and a class on sharing photos using email, photos sites, and cute widgets that do cool things online. The schedule is still a draft, and doesn’t go public until after the survey results come in, so I still have space for changes.

I am a little worried about how the patrons will take the shift from basic stuff in a class environment to basic stuff one-on-one. To be honest, the basic and beginner classes always filled with the same people, and they sign up for the classes before anyone else can, so it’s hard for anyone else to get in. All the same, I’m wondering if people will just say, “Yeah, but when is the *class*?” or “When are *you* teaching it?” or even “I don’t really want to make an appointment, can’t you just tell me when someone will be here teaching it?” I think it’ll be a matter of education, on the site, at the desk, on the schedule, in the newsletter, everywhere we can. Besides, how much better does it get than making your own class at the library, right?

Overall, I think the Netguides + classes formula has been fabulous, and I think it will continue to be successful, especially with the changes I have planned. I’ve given the Netguides a hiatus for September, so that we can figure out schedules, have meetings to check in on skills and such, and recruit/train and/or refresher train as necessary. Besides, we need to make room in there somewhere for a pizza party or two!

So, as I reviewed my blog activity log, I noticed a significant number of searches for Netguides posts. It is unfair to be, in a metaphorical sense, so neglectful of my first child and favor my youngest when it comes to blog upkeep and attention, and it’s really silly that I didn’t just think to create a Netguides category.

Henceforth, all substantially Netguides-centric posts (as opposed to itty bitty mentions) will be in the Netguides category, which can also be found in the right-side nav on the main page. How’s that for responsiveness to stats and reports.

Long overdue update in general, for sure.

Over the past few months, my supervisor and I have been working with Alex “The Boy Scout” to revive our old Netguides program, where high school students are trained for individualized technology help for our patrons. The project has shaken out into 3 stages:

Stage 1: Planning and compiling
This is where The Boy Scout’s help will be the greatest, and will fulfill the requirements for his Eagle Scout leadership project. We didn’t know in the beginning that Alex would not necessarily be working alone; as it turns out, his scoutmates are his minions, and he’s in charge of managing and delegating work to the rest of his troop.

So far, he’s revamped our application materials, as well as a few other odds and ends and is in the process of putting together a general manual for the program. He has also written an article for the local paper about the program, from which we received many inquiries of interest, and set up a table in the library on a Saturday to drum up interest for the program, answer questions, and hand out applications. The Boy Scout’s one busy guy, let me tell you.

Other tasks for The Boy Scout include developing a manual for the Netguides themselves, developing further promotional materials, and helping with interviews, training, and evaluation for certification as a entry-level Netguide. Once this phase is complete, he’s released from all duties, and will be evaluated by his troop leaders for eligibility for Eagle Scouthood.

We received 23 applications total before the deadline on December 15 (1 after which will, sadly, be ineligible), which is really way more than I expected. How many we keep will depend on all sorts of stuff from the next phase. Our plan is to schedule a general information meeting in early January for all of the applicants to explain the next steps in the process, what the commitments will be and how they can meet them, general policies, and setting up quick little 20-minute interviews to get to know them and make sure they’re customer service people.

Stage 2: Training and yet more planning
How many applicants we keep will depend a great deal on how things go in the interviews, and what kind of availability everyone has. We want to make sure we can have decent coverage with whatever group we have, plus backup (since kids are really busy these days, and are also often subject to the schedule quirks of their parents/guardians/caregivers). So yeah, I’ll have to get back to you on that little bit.

Once we pick our starter group, we’ll run three 1-hour training sessions. These sessions will include everything from general orientation, etiquette, basic customer service concepts, dealing with difficult people, time limits, and thinking on the user level. One of my favorite exercises that my supervisor used in the last iteration of the program was teaching people to do everyday things like they’ve never done them before, such as tying a shoe, chewing gum and blowing a bubble, stuff like that. I have another partner exercise where one person has a picture of a house, and they describe it to their partner to draw. This gets everyone thinking outside of their experience, and thinking like the people they are helping.

After the training, we’ll do an evaluation to make sure the Netguides are ready for field duty. I’m thinking a quick on-paper test, then a quick live-action scenario with a willing patron, so we can test their retention as well as their hands-on people skills.

Then comes the scheduling. There are three types of interactions for Netguides: drop-in, on-call, and by appointment. Drop-in nights will consist of 2 hours in the computer lab, where anyone can just drop by and say, “I need help with…,” and spend 45 minutes with a Netguide (Netguides will get at *least* a 5-minute, ideally a 15-minute, break between patrons). On-call will mean having a Netguide chillin’ or doing homework near the Information Desk, where we can summon them to help a patron with any computer needs, including using a mouse, printing a document, or filling out forms online, for example. Patrons will also be able to make an appointment with a Netguide for one-on-one help.

Stage 3: Evaluation and “graduation”
Every Netguide interaction will come with an evaluation form for the patron. Netguides will be encouraged to keep journals of their experiences, if that will help them record their progress or articulate any problems. Since many of the students will be using their hours to fulfill community service requirements for other organizations, having this documentation helps them and us in the long run. It also allows us to evaluate each student’s performance, and find ways to make them happier and more productive in the program, which is important for volunteer retention.

For students who fulfill their 2 hours per month requirement, and wish to move on to other things, we’ll recognize them with a certificate and letters of recommendation and whatnot, and even snacks and pizza. The volunteers who want to stick around will be made into a new and evolved breed of Netguide, who will help train new Netguides and can work on other projects should they choose. The monthly requirement will likely remain 2 hours per month, which isn’t all that much, although we won’t stop them if they want to do more.

And so the Netguide cycle will begin again.

We’ll also do a little internal evaluation, look over how the logistics are working, and fix anything that needs fixing. It’ll probably also involve writing a small report, so that we can lobby for funding as necessary in the new fiscal year. As it is now, we’re not a line item or anything, but if we do need money for supplies or anything, we can request funding from the Friends.

Many things are still being worked out on the fly. It’s very, very beta. We do anticipate popularity of the program, given that I get many queries on whether or not I do private lessons (I don’t), when we’ll be doing general computer everything basics classes, and when I’ll be doing *more* classes (I won’t). The idea is that the Netguides will help patrons, get the kids the community service hours they need, and take the pressure off me to do more classes than my schedule can sanely allow. Nevermind upholding the reputation of the library as a tech forward and friendly place. Overall I’m stoked, and I’m sure I’ll be way more energetic and enthusiastic with the busy holiday season out of the way.

Happy Hannukah 6 nights in, by the way!